Kotaku
Last Saturday afternoon, I got the chance to sit down and have a little talk with Grasshopper Interactive boss (and super-nice guy) Goichi Suda. How's the family, how's the weather, when's No More Heroes coming out, that kind of thing. Very cordial.
His address on day one of the conference was all about what makes him a punk designer, so I ask him why he thinks so few other developers adopt a similar strategy. "When you're making games, it's very important to have the funds to make the game", he says. "So in order to get approval from your publisher, you have to be able to convince them that your game will be successful, which means you need to make your game more 'safe'".
"So making games in a 'punk style' has a lot more risk", he continues. "It is a lot more difficult and poses a lot of challenges to designers, so maybe that's why not many other developers do it". In other words, just like punk, most people aren't fans of the end product.
Yet, just like punk, while the mass-market might shun him, he's developed a cult following, including here in the west. I ask him why he thinks this is. "I've been watching western movies and listening to western music since I was little, so I think I'm really used to western culture", he says.
"Before I got into making games I was always looking for something to do, that I believed in, that I could make for the western market", Suda continues. "That's where a lot of my original ideas are coming from, and once I was fortunate enough to be able to make Killer7, from the beginning I wanted to release the game overseas and give westerners something I felt they were looking for".
"I also wanted to give them something that made them feel "oh, this is great", or "oh, this is very different from other western games", he says. "I think maybe that's why some westerners like my ideas and my games".
Another reason, I point out, is because your last two games were on Nintendo systems, as is your next one. Why the love? "The Wii, and also the DS, are both quite 'different' devices at their core", he says. "So if a game developer has a very strict, safe idea of how to make a game, that makes it difficult for him, because what Nintendo are doing is totally new and fresh".
"So I first have to destroy the way I'm thinking about how to make a game, then rebuild the game as I can see it working on the system", he continues. "That's what I find really interesting about making a game for the Wii".
I point out that, for all their artistic vision, Killer7 and Contact had their fair share of flaws. So do you ever look back on your games with a critical eye? "I don't really think about looking back on my past games", he says. "Oh, except the PS2 version of Killer7. Some 'other company' ported the game to PS2, and I like working on all my games myself, so that's the only thing I wish I could change".
But surely you learn a lesson or two from how a game is received? I mean, Killer7 had a lot of fans, but most people either didn't understand, or straight-up hated the game. "Well, it's not just Killer7, people seem to either love or hate most of my games, there's nobody in between!" he says.
"So I kind of expected that reaction. As for learning a lesson, I didn't really 'learn' anything for No More Heroes because it's a different kind of game, but maybe looking at how the western market reacted to Killer7 will help for the game we release after No More Heroes".
Ah, No More Heroes. This writer, at least, is a little bit excited. So when's it coming? During your address, a June-July release date was mentioned. "I'm looking at releasing the game in Japan sometime this year", he says, "and hopefully either at the end of this year or early next year in Europe and the United States". Ah. Translator error, then. Shame.
Reminding him that he's on record as saying No More Heroes will be "as violent, or even more violent than Manhunt 2!", I ask whether the issue of censorship is troubling him. If it's ultra-violent, won't that run the risk of it being banned in places like Germany or Australia?
"Well, Japan has a strict ratings system too, just like Australia and Germany", Suda says. "I'm working on making changes to different versions of the game so that we can release the game everywhere". No word on just what these changes were, sadly, but Germans might want to start thinking about importing anyway.
With the recent turmoil at Capcom over the whole Clover fiasco and the formation of Seeds, I figure I'll ask if we can expect/hope for another collaboration with Shinji Mikami. "We've been talking about making another game like Killer7, so we're not sure when that's going to be", he says. "But something will happen in the future, we really want to make it happen".
Comments
I appreciate people like this.
I had no idea Suda was such a nice guy, from the Suda51 nickname and titles like Killer7 I thought he would be some sunglasses wearing diva like Itagaki. Kudos to Suda for keeping it real.
Any game with as crazy a premise as NMH and that allows for several different ways to suplex people is a game that I want to play.
Its people like Suda that this industry is lacking. He does a lot of things i wish more people would do. I absolutely love the fact that he doesn't really use his past experiences to influence his current and future projects. Thats called playing it safe and usually leads to sequels undending (see EA).
Agreed, its hard to make a game everyone likes. I've heard people both trash and praise Killer7 for what it was. Thats fine. Very few games receive universal acclaim. We need more of this 'punk' development from more 3rd party developers.
But in the end, it all comes down to who pays the bills and what they want. Best of luck to him.
Rumor has it he's going to announce another game he's working on sometime this Summer. Hopefully it's "Project S" with Kojima. If not, I'd settle for a Contact sequel on either Wii or DS.
So cool. I'm really looking forward to No More Heroes. Love Killer 7, I just need to finish it. I like his attitude and his outlook too.
goichi suda is a phoney.
i saw his "punk's not dead" talk at GDC.
i was very excited about it, being a pretty big killer7 fan. i was looking forward to seeing what this guy was like.
he kept going on and ong about "punk games" without ever saying what a punk game is exactly. he let us know all the music he likes, like joy division and the wire and such. all POST-punk bands BTW. bands i love too.
but then at the end some indie kid (im an indie too) got up and asked him how can indies make punk games too. his advice was: befriend a powerful producer. get money. get your game on a major platform. his stance was basicly that your game dosent count if its not on a console, and that you just need lots of money to make you sure your game gets done.
so to goichi suda punk is lots of money, powerful producer and major labels.
goichi suda is an idiot.
oh and also, at some point he made alusion to the fact that he dosent take any drugs.
PUNK IS NO MONEY, LOTS OF DRUGS AND NO POWERFUL PRODUCERS.
he could not have said something as far removed from what punk actually is. he was SO completely wrong about everything. punk is a tiny little bar where walls are covered with grafitti and shit. he's just latching on to this "punk game" concept but its ultimatly meaningless. it sounds cool. makes him look cool.
i was about to get up and "ask a question" i just wanted to walk to to mike and flip him the bird and say "fuck you goichi suda". that would have been punk. defiance, filth, punk was a desease. and it IS dead. its wankers like suda51 that helped killed it with their money and producers.
"punk's not dead"...
Nice article. I thought Killer7 was great, despite its flaws. I've never seen a picture of Suda51, and I always figured he'd dress up like The Cure. It's nice to know that though he clearly thinks of games as an art form, he isn't pompous about it.
What a great read! Suda is indeed a cool guy, and I can't freaking wait for NMH. I really loved Killer 7 ... that was an awsome game.
I still haven't played Contact yet, but I plan on getting it soon.
My god! this man is the anti jaffe.
Of course, the big disappointment here is the news that No More Heroes might not come out this year! Sigh, I knew that was too good to be true.
Suda is the man. Really nice guy and always had great ideas. I wonder what can he come up with the machines of the graphical level of the 360 and PS3. :)
He just has to realize the game has to be playable. I really wanted to like Killer7. I was very interested in the story. But it was just so annoying to play, I had to quit. It was just really bothersome. No harm done, as I picked it up used for $5, which is a statement in itself.
am I the only one who would like to see a killer 7 remake for wii? i would think its perfect for the wiimote
@snazzynick: YES! Wiimote might actually make that game kind of fun to play.
suda is a genius. plain and simple.
So is No More Heroes based on the Stranglers song of the same name? Since this is supposed to be a 'punk game', I think it'd be entirely fitting.. even if the Stranglers weren't really a punk band per se.
Or maybe it's even a nod to Converge's latest album? [Insert pun about 'hardcore games' here]
He made Contact? That was such a disappointment to me; I wanted to like it, but it required way too much level-grinding. No More Heroes looks great; I only hope that it can have good gameplay, which is the biggest concern for Wii games.
@kingofallcosmos:
From what I remember, he produced Contact. He didn't have a whole lot to do with the development.
@kingofallcosmos: He produced contact, Akira Ueda was the main man on it. His new company, Audio, is meant to be working on Contact 2.
thanks plunkett, really want to hear more from suda51 on his idea on gaming in general because i really like the direction his games take.
As was said, I was always under the impression that Suda51 was some kind of badass... emo, I guess. Just goes to show that you can't judge developers by their work.
Perhaps it's in the dual nature of the human to be capable both of absolute good and absolute evil. It's nice that his interpersonal skills are on the good side, while his evil side is in his games. ~_^
@CyricZ: Well, people who are 'different' in certain countercultures and may look scary or off-putting are often actually really nice.
I still think he should get pink hair and a nose ring or two, though. :)
Well, if "No More Heroes" is a reference to the Stranglers' song/album from 1977, that would make him really punk, indeed.
He looks like he's going to kancho someone lol
Suda is rad, uncut and pure.
The industry would be a better place with more developers like Suda51 around. He also seems really well spoken and like some (only some) western developers isn't trying to push that he's really cool.
It's just a shame that his games won't sell more then games like generic WWII shooter 215 and because of that those games are going to get the budget and the marketing.
I Love you Suda! ^___^
He looks like he just said, "Yeah that thing was huge, I still can't get over it. I think Peter has to be with me on this one at least."
Great read. This guys got the right attitude as a game maker. Much respect. Look forward to all his future games.
I really like this guy's opiunion on game development.
I don't care if this gets posted, this was disgraceful... the man clearly considers his games more like art than something that can have FLAWS! contact was a great game, i haven't played killer7 but i'm sure it is a fun game, I hate everyones idea that you have to apply a number to an interactive piece of art. a number rating is a horrible and stale way of looking at something that is special and different. i was really disgusted with this article. my email is michaeltrouten@gmail.com, please email me, because this is something that your site needs to take into consideration in the future. I like how effecient your site is and how often stuff is posted but i'm considering not visiting your site ever again. Maybe that doesn't mean alot to you but how many people leave without saying a word?
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